Back firmly atop the horse after a run of two straight defeats Saints are back in action when they host Huddersfield Giants on Thursday night (April 25, kick-off 8.00pm).
The stain of the Challenge Cup thrashing by Warrington needed a deep clean so it was fortunate for Paul Wellens’ men that their next opponents were Hull FC. Without a permanent coach and with only one win from their first eight in Super League the black and whites were cannon fodder for Saints who scored 10 tries in a 58-0 rout.
That meant they remained two points behind leaders Catalans Dragons having won six of their eight league outings so far in 2024. This week they face an improving Giants outfit who had a comeback win over Leeds Rhinos in their last game.
Ian Watson’s side have won their last five in all competitions including a surprise victory over the Dragons in the Challenge Cup quarter-final. It’s a run which has also seen them climb into sixth spot in the table, a position which carries a playoff place should they end up there come September.
Wellens has made only one change to the 21-man squad which was on duty last week. Lewis Dodd missed out against FC with a groin problem and doesn’t make it this week. Which either means that he does have a genuine injury which is causing some concern or it’s an elaborate cover for the fact that his recent form has not totally warranted his selection. Tee Ritson – the forgotten man of the club having not made a first team appearance since last August – is the one chosen to replace Dodd in the squad.
With Dodd out we will probably see Jon Bennison continue at fullback to allow Jack Welsby to partner Jonny Lomax in the halves once more. Ritson will try to break into a three-quarter line which might be spirit-sappingly slow but still has enough depth to force former Parramatta Eels centre Waqa Blake on to the wing to accommodate Mark Percival and Konrad Hurrell in the centres. Tommy Makinson is an immovable object on the right wing so Ritson’s chances are still a little on the bleak side.
Alex Walmsley is still out with a hamstring injury amid reports tonight (April 24) that he could miss up to four months having also picked up a knee injury. For now Matty Lees takes on the responsibility of the senior prop given that Sione Mata’utia has only recently converted to the role. And even then he’s something of a part-timer at it since he is often required to fill in elsewhere. George Delaney should also feature either from the start or off the bench.
Daryl Clark was the other regular to miss the Hull match owing to a knee injury but is deemed fit enough to be included. Moses Mbye stepped in to the hooking role in Clark’s absence and was impressive enough to suggest that he will compete with the ex-Warrington man for playing time in this one.
The back row has a range of options. Joe Batchelor and Matt Whitley got the nod to start against Hull but Wellens also has Curtis Sironen available as well as James Bell and – if he really wants to mix it up – Sam Royle. Bell is more often used in the loose forward role where Morgan Knowles also offers a top quality option. If there are problems in this Saints side they are not in the pack.
Watson has also made just a single change to his party. Harvey Livett misses out with a groin strain so Hugo Salabia comes back into contention. Former Saint Andre Savelio is on the list of absentees along with Jack Murchie, Sam Hewitt and Livett’s former Warrington team-mate and veteran prop Chris Hill. All of which could see Watson name 16 of the 17 who earned the win over Leeds last week, with Livett being the only exception.
If marketing were rugby league’s bag then the battle between Welsby and Jake Connor would be talked up. In an era which seems to be defined by set completion and processes they are two maverick entertainers around whom things tend to happen.
Connor will likely operate at fullback despite being slightly ill equipped for it defensively. Yet like Welsby his qualities are with ball in hand as a creative force. Unlike Welsby the former Hull FC man is a frustratingly inconsistent performer which is one of but far from the only reason why his team have the same problem.
The lack of pace in the Saints back line would be partly addressed if Adam Swift were still wearing the red vee. The winger was allowed to join Hull FC after Regan Grace emerged from the academy but now that Grace has moved on to rugby union there is a hole on the left wing that is currently being filled by Blake. Please, no jokes about Blake filling holes. But anyway Saints probably made the right move in preferring Grace at the time but since then Swift has been prolific for both FC and now the Giants.
Kevin Naiqama is another ex-Saint who could arguably still command a first team place given the current issues in the pace department. He is partnered in the centres for the Giants by Esan Marsters with youngster Elliot Wallis operating on the flank opposite Swift.
Adam Clune was the Giants’ big signing from the NRL for 2024. The halfback joined from Newcastle Knights amid some fanfare but has yet to truly hit the heights. But his partnership with Tonga’s Tui Lolohea has promise and with Connor linking in with them there is a genuine creative threat there which Saints will need to be wary of.
Like most teams in Super League the Giants will find it most difficult to match Saints up front. There are some capable performers in the ranks of their forwards but they don’t seem quite at the level of their Saintly counterparts.
Yet another man who once adorned the red vee could start at prop in Joe Greenwood, with Matty English alongside him. Adam Milner is the hooker though Ash Golding will likely come off the bench to operate at dummy half at times.
Harry Rushton may step into Livett’s second row berth alongside another veteran in Leroy Cudjoe with the industrious Luke Yates at loose forward. Salabia may then earn a place on the interchange bench with Oliver Wilson and Sebastine Ikahihifo.
The teams have already met once this season. Saints dominated the Giants in a Round 2 clash at the John Smith’s Stadium, winning 28-0 back in February. That was one of three defeats suffered by the Yorkshire side in Super League this year, the others coming at Wigan and at home to Hull KR in March.
Saints met Huddersfield three times last season, coming out on top in all three. It was a hard fought battle at the John Smith’s in March as Saints won 14-12 but they were much more convincing in recording a 48-6 success at home in June. Then, when the rest of the league was inactive for Challenge Cup final weekend in August the teams met in a game postponed from the start of the season. Saints had been busy being crowned world champions with victory over Penrith Panthers at that time. They won the delayed fixture 32-18, again on home soil.
Huddersfield’s last win at Saints was in March 2020. That ended 12-10 to the Giants in what turned out to be the penultimate game before the whole rugby league show shut down for almost five months due to the coronavirus. Knowles memorably featured at centre in that one and was a try scorer for Saints. As was some bloke called Thompson of whom apparently nothing was ever heard again.
The win over Hull hasn’t told us a huge amount about Saints given the current state of things over at the MKM. Hull are one of three teams who are demonstrably weaker than the other nine in Super League. A 58-0 win is never a result to be sniffed at but nor is it much of an indicator that the problems Wellens’ men were experiencing before that game are any closer to being resolved.
Similarly, Huddersfield’s winning run may look much more like the kind of thing that was promised when Watson took over at the club but it should be remembered that Hull were also among their victims as were the only winless side in Super League in the shape of London Broncos. The win in Perpignan was genuinely impressive but backing it up with success in St Helens would arguably be even more so.
It might not be straightforward for Saints but they should have just about enough to keep up with the pacesetters at the top of the Super League table as we move towards the summer months.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Waqa Blake, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 9. Daryl Clark, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Batchelor, 13. Morgan Knowles, 14. Moses Mbye, 15. James Bell, 16. Curtis Sironen, 19. Matt Whitley, 20. George Delaney, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 25. Tee Ritson, 31. Noah Stephens.
Huddersfield Giants;
1. Jake Connor 2. Adam Swift -3. Esan Marsters 4. Kevin Naiqama -5. Jake Bibby 6. Tui Lolohea 7. Adam Clune 9. Adam Milner 10. Joe Greenwood 13. Luke Yates 14. Ash Golding 15. Matty English 16. Harry Rushton 17. Olly Wilson 18. Seb Ikahihifo 20. Elliot Wallis 21. Leroy Cudjoe 23. Olly Russell 24. Sam Halsall 26. Hugo Salabio
Referee: Liam Moore
Video Referee: Ben Thaler
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